A is for apple. Fall is for apples. And apples are the perfect back-to-school motif. There are so many ways to bring apples into the classroom, including writing, science, learning letters, and themes. Here’s a bushel-full of apple-inspired activities and a printable apple template for each one!
Grab all the apple templates by filling out the form on this page. Plus check out the fun ideas for using each printable below.
Large Apple Template
Apple painting
Cut actual apples in half and place them in paint. Then, use the apples as stamps to decorate each apple printable. This is a fun way to decorate a classroom or bulletin board at the beginning of the year, and it reinforces colors by having students dip yellow apples in yellow paint, red apples in red paint, and green apples in green paint.
One of a kind
Print one apple for each student and have students create themselves if they were an apple. What traits would they have? Do they share any traits with apples? (Are they sweet? Do they get red when they’re embarrassed? Can they go green with envy?) Of course, students can add traits that are unique to them but unrelated to apples. Use their apple personas in a get-to-know you activity.
Large Apple Template With Lines for Writing
What would you do with an apple?
Have students use the writing templates to write a description of what they would do with an apple. Encourage them to get creative. What if they were alone with an apple on a deserted island? What if they had one apple and had to feed all their friends?
Apple research
There are more than 7,500 types of apples. Have students choose an apple variety, like Gala, Honey Crisp, or Granny Smith, and research that variety. They can describe how this variety came to be, where it’s grown, and what it tastes like. Older students can also learn how the variety was created. Did farmers combine two varieties to create a new one?
Medium Apple Template
Apple division
Cut out the apple template and divide each in half. Write an even number on each apple. Give students apple seeds and have them use each apple to show how we divide the number by two. So, if an apple has an 8 on it, they would put four seeds in each half.
Apple diagram
Create a diagram of an apple by drawing, coloring, and labeling all the parts (skin, seeds, stem, flesh, leaf).
Medium Apple Template With Lines for Writing
Apple recipes
Write the steps for making apple fritters, an apple pie, or any other favorite apple recipe on these medium apple printables. Then, put the steps in order on a poster or staple them together to create a recipe book.
Johnny Appleseed biography
Research Johnny Appleseed and use the medium-size apple templates to tell his story. For younger students, use a First-Next-Then-Last format for organization. For older students, have them organize main idea and details on apples to show his life.
Learn more: Activities for Johnny Appleseed Day
Printable Page of Small Apples
Awesome to the Core bulletin board
Make apples your back-to-school theme. Print these apples, color them in, and put students’ names and/or photos on each.
Applicious bulletin board
Create a bulletin board of words that describe apples (crunchy, delicious, sweet). Each student decorates an apple to show their word.
Life cycle of an apple
Create a diagram of a life cycle of an apple. Students write each part of an apple’s life cycle (seed, flower, small apple, large apple) on one apple and put them in a cycle.
Apples in Different Sizes
Apple estimating
Print the large apples and small apples. Cut up the small apples and have students estimate how many of each small apple will fit into a large apple. Then, use the small apples to determine if their estimates were right or not.
Apple math counters
Print, cut, and laminate these apples to use as math counters. Depending on students’ fine motor skills, they can work with the large, small, or medium apple counters to complete math problems.
Apple ten-frames
Show students how to work with ten-frames using these apples. Model with the large apples, then have students practice with the small or medium-size apples.
Small Apple Printables
Apple graphing
Start the year off with apple graphing. Each student has an apple and puts their apple on a pictograph or bar graph to show their preferences. You can graph students’ favorite apple color or type, their favorite school supply, or a book they’d like to read this year.
Apple checkers
Create an apple checkers game by printing out apples in two different colors. Cut enough for a checkers game and teach students how to play. Great for indoor recess during a fall storm.
Apple Tree Trunk
Apple print trees
Start with the tree trunk and have students press and stamp cut apples to create a tree.
Kindness tree
Print the tree trunk and the small apple printables. Cut the small apples. Have each student write a compliment or word that describes each of their peers so that each student has a bunch of apples with kind words on them. Then, they can put their compliment apples on their tree.
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